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THIS is the amazing moment a small car-sized elephant seal is sent back into the ocean by a small army of locals and police
The gigantic animal managed to mix up ten city blocks in a residential area of Puerto Cisnes, Chile, before returning to its natural habitat with a little help
Chilean police and navy officials joined neighbors in blocking streets to help bring the huge mammal back to the ocean
The elephant seal can be seen twisting as it is surrounded by a large crowd of people holding a tarp
The roads are blocked by cars and other plastic sheeting as they try to show the beast where to get home
He returned to the water shortly before a coronavirus curfew was imposed on the city’s 2,500 residents
Manuel Novoa, a presenter for local radio station Radio Autentica FM, who filmed footage of the incident showing the assisted elephant seal and commented live on the rescue
He said: « Look at all the people helping and using a tarp to surround him
« It is only a few meters from the sea now The work done by the neighbors has been incredible
« They give him time to rest because he has walked about ten blocks and must be very tired »
A dog was even seen joining at one point, wagging its tail as it ran towards the aid army running behind the elephant seal as it sped its belly on the tarmac
Applause rang out as the animal made its way into the ocean between fishing boats anchored at the water’s edge and disappeared into the darkness
A Navy official told M Novoa as the volunteers wrapped their plastic sheeting and walked home: « It was a great effort The seal is now safe and out of danger for humans and dogs who could injure it
« We are very happy and will be on constant patrols to make sure he does not return to dry land and suffer an accident
In a statement, Navy Captain Christian Reyes Jofre said: “We ask people when they see these animals not to approach them or to take their pets to see them
« A safe distance should be maintained to give them the peace and quiet they need so that they do not become disoriented or stressed »
The bizarre episode has been linked to the city’s busy streets being silent at night due to a Covid-19 curfew
A witness named only as Antonia told the local press: « It was going very quickly My son spotted him first and at first he was scared
« I had never seen an elephant seal so close, and certainly never in a populated area
Southern elephant seals, the type found in southern Chile, were hunted to the brink of extinction like northern elephant seals in the late 19th century, but their numbers have since recovered.
They spend up to 80% of their life in the ocean and can hold their breath for over 100 minutes, longer than any other non-cetacean mammal
They get their name from the large nose of adult males that resemble an elephant’s trunk
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Elephant seals, seals, Chile
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SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
